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AN EDISON EPIGRAM.
Thonuis A. Edison Is a man of few
words, end, like many n in nil of sim
ilar habits, often packs away a lot of
wisdom In a brief sentence, says Phil
adelphia Bulletin, lie was talking a
few nights ago of tli gigantic tasks
nd responsibilities the wiir Imposed
n the nntlon, and particularly of the
necessity of speeding up. when lie let
tills spark Hy: "It i not a question
f what we must not do, lnt a question
of what we must do." If the truth
of this sentence were to ho recognized
by legislators and administrators, the
task of government in war would be
easier, and results might be fur bet
ter. The Inventor was speaking of the
waste of mental and other energy at
Washington In seeking to put aside the
"nonessential" operations of the conn
try, and his Immediate application of
Ills nut-shell philosophy was that If
the government were to devote Its en
tire energy to stimulating production
of the things necessary for the conduct
of the war It need not bother with non
essentials, so long as they did not pre
vent or Interfere with war work. But
the thought deserves a wider appli
cation, and the substitution of "do"
for "don't" would simplify a lot of
more or less successful government
regulation.
"Old men for counsel," is the say
ing, "young men for war." But tills
war rather falsifies the old adage,
says Spokane Spokesman Review.
At seventy-seven Clemenrenti of
France remains go energetic tha he
Jitill deserves his cognomen of "the
tiger." Joffre was an old man when
lie won the battle of the Muruu. Lloyd
George Is not exactly young. Wood
row Wilson Is past sixty. But none
of them seems to require the Osier
method of being chloroformed out of
existence. These veterans do not "lag
uperfluoiis on the stage." Onto learn
ed Greek at eight v. Chaucer com
posed his "Canterbury Tales" at
-sixty. Goethe toiled to the end and
Ws "Faust" was not completed till he
had outlived eighty. Simonldes won a
prize for poetry and Sophocles wrote
"Oedipus," when each had passed four
score. Theophrastus outdid them all,
for he was ninety when he commenced
tils "Characters of Men."
Since It Is the part of wisdom to
turn everything, even misfortune, to
use, there Is considerable interest in
what good effects may be had from the
various food shortages which are with
OS and In prospect. Robert Hutchin
son points out In British Medical Jour
nal that though a reduction in the fat
ration of half a pound a week would
entail a loss of weight, this loss is not
progressive, the Individual being able
to maintain a lower weight on a di
minished diet. This is due to the
lessened output of energy required to
transport a smaller body weight. A
lesser body surface also means a
smaller heat loss. The conclusion Is
reached that there Is no reason to sup
pose that smaller rations menns a
lowering of health probably the re
verso Is the case.
OIL INSTEAD C7 COAL.
The French are studying how to do
without coal. Here are some sugges
tions put forth In L'Rlustratii i by L.
Buudry de Saunter which are almost
ns applicable to America as to France:
"Why," asks the famous scientist, "ar-
our railroads, which burn almost 0,000,
000 tons a year, not operated by elec
tricity? In water power France is one
of the richest countries In the world.
I'.ut only one of our systems, that of
the Midi, Is electrified, and that only
partially. Why does our shipping,
lioth naval and mercantile, cling to
coal heated boilers when oil furnaces
liave already proved a success on sev
eral steamers? Why should not the
coal range of our kitchens be abolish
ed by law, some day soon, 'since it eats
tip coal madly? And there are many
other similar ways. It will take time
to make these changes, no matter how
hurriedly they be undertaken, but they
must be tackled at once If the rigors
of the transition period are not to be
prolonged beyond our powers to bear
them." And he adds that restriction
Is not a mere war measure that will
Tanlsh as soon as peace be restored,
but a "symptom of the economic labor
that Is straining the whole world like
a new volcanic outbreak, for the world
Is cracking because the war Is mak
ing Us evolution far too rapid."
The work accomplished by the
American Red Cross In April sur
passed all records of the prganlzntlon
Jn France, says Arkansas Thomas Cat
Food and drink were supplied to Amer
ican soldiers. Nine rest stations and
seven canteens provided 408,000 meals.
Nine metropolitan canteens served 454
000 meals. Three lurgejiospltals wero
1
i'-iiilt and equipp.'il. Three large dis
pensaries have been opened at ports
and hundreds of beds have been udded
to the Red Cross military hos
pitals. Many convalescent homes have
been opened, laundries Installed, field
kitchens set lip to supply food to sol
diers going to and returning from the
battlefields and 221,000 bags of tobacco
and cigarettes distributed at the enmps.
Each field kitchen hns a capacity of
5,000 men dnily. Canteens have been
established behind the American lines
where the soldiers gather at night to
smoke, p!.iy games and write letters
to the or.dS at home.
In the first enthusiasm of food con
servation a good many people econo
mized valiantly In dairy products as
well as In meat and in white Hour.
That was a mistaken economy, how
ever. Use all the milk and butter and
cheese you can afford to buy. They
f re the best sort of food ; they are
not needed for export, and the gener
ous consumption of them will encour
age the dairy industry to expand. Milk
and cheese and eggs are the best pos
sible substitutes for meat; the sup
ply of such foods can be Increased
mach more rapidly than the supply of
meat; and nothing will effect that In
crease so certainly as a steadily In
creasing demand for them.
In nil histories of wars among civ
ilized nations It has been known thnt
the rate of insanity Is much higher In
the army than in civil life, but In this
war the extraordinary fatigue of mod
ern trench warfare, plus the terrific ar
tillery fire, has produced new prob
lems. Profiting by the bitter experi
ence of the allies, the surgeon general
has assigned psychopathic specialists
to every camp and cantonment, and nl
ready, on their advice, more than 10,
000 men have been weeded out of
the army because of their suscepti
bility, Inherited or temperamental, to
nervous shock.
ITonsewIves are reminded that the
fly objects to oil of lavender, as well
as to honeysuckle, heliotrope and hop
blossoms. His taste Is unrefined In
what he does not like as well as In
what he does, and the determination
to keep him out of the dining room
and away from the baby's cradle
should not be receded from In the
slightest degree.
There Is said to be 3,000,000 dogs
In Great Britain, and the war exi
gency for food will lead to putting them
on rations. In all the war countries
across the ocean there Is competition
for every crust of bread.
Another way to Improve the verse
of three-fourths of the war poets Is
to put them In the trenches where
they can get the Inspiration of the
battle itself.
The average woman finds out how
her husband likes to have her do up
her hair and then she does it up some
other way.
Threats of soap shortage ought to
stimulate Inventors of substitutes, such
os wood ashes, sand and other scour
ing materials.
Canning Time-Over
WAR AND RESOURCES. .
The ri'.itural resources of the United
Slates are abundant and are greatly In
excess ot the total material resources
of Great. Britain, France and Italy.
The full development of these re
sources would give the United States
great power as a factor In the world
struggle. American ingenuity and
American industry should have a free
hand In order successfully to play Its
part in adapting these resources to the
needs of war. Co-ot'crution by the
government in the fields of research
and analysis, constructive legislative
and regulative policies and the institu
tion of intelligent and helpful methods
In our consular and diplomatic service
would contribute vastly to our national
efficiency and prosperity; After the
war will come the more serious period
of adjustment, and. on the way In
which our fimmciul and Industrial lend
ers handle this problem will depend
the successful 1'quldutlon of our pres
ent credit extensions, says The Pro
tectionist. The position of the coun
try, however, should be materially im
proved at the close of the war. We
have become a creditor nation and will
continue to be. At the outbreak of
the war we were debtors to the extent
of $5,000,000,000 or $0,000,000,000.
Since then we have received over
$1,000,000,000 of gold from abroad.
We have bought abroad probably $2,
r00,000,000 of our securities and we
have loaned through private channels
approximately $2,000,000,000 to foreign
countries, and In addition our own gov
ernment has given credits in the way
of advances to the allies of approxi
mately $0,000,000,000. ,
There Is nothing menn or narrow In
the program of Major General Gorgas
for the participation of women In war
work as nurses and physicians and
surgeons. He says to the women:
"Tfur country needs you!" and he
advocates as a policy ,for congress to
enforce by legislation the adoption of
the principle that women doctors and
surgeons engaged In war work are en
titled to the same military rank n-
medical officers similarly engaged who
happen te be of what Artemus Ward
humorously designated as "the male
persuasion."
Saving accomplishes a double pur
pose. It prevents the diversion of la
bor to useless activity and it estab
lishes our national credit upon a firm
and substantial basis. The integrity
of our financial structure is only sec
ond in importance to the development
of the highest military efficiency. "As
a people," In the words of Professor
Scott, "we now have it in our power
either to conserve and strengthen our
credit system or wreck it."
Still, the man who says he would
rather walk five miles in the morning
before breakfast than to ride in an
automobile Is not a dangerous liar, ne
belongs to the breed characterized by
a pernicious and obstreperous eccen
tricity of the veracity.
If women object to havlng'the height
of their shoes reduced by federal or
der, there is, of course, the uufalllng
slipper. Or Is that restricted by fein-
lnlne fashion to winter wear!
D
There
WOMEN HANDLE BIG SHELLS
Young Mother Gave Practical Demon,
stration of Their Physical Fit
ness to Do So.
When women first were put to work
In shell factories In England they
handled only the light field-gun shells.
Later it became necessary for them to
turn out larger shells, and doubts were
raised as to whether the women were
strong enough to handle them. A
young mother settled the question.
"Let me heft the shell," she snld,
picking one up from the floor. "Aye,"
she commented, "this shell Is a mite
heavy, 'tis true, but it's not so heavy
as my baby."
There is a shell factory In the Liv
erpool district operated almost exclu
sively hy the daughters of business
and professional men. Many are
young g'rls who hnd never done any
kind of work other than needle work
and cooking. The heavy work of the
establishment is performed by the
wives of sailors.
This. Is a nonprofit-making factory
and it Is the reply of the Cuuard com
pany to the Germans for the sinking
of the Lusitanln.
Rip Van Noah.
It was the first twilight game at the
local ball park, and the little fan with
the whiskers just had to tell something
to celebrate the occasion.
"Boys, here's a new one my son
wrote me," he said, as he climbed into
the bleachers.
"Well, spring it ! Spring It !" begged
the "gang." "Let's get It over with."
"Yuh know my son's at the Nation
al army camp at Chllllcothe. leh, he
came out flat-footed fer the war. Hah
hah!" said the little man, as he bit
Into a cigar which everybody knew
was made In Wheeling. "Well, here
Is what he wrote me this morning
'Dear Pop Here Is a Joke. I hope
you see the point. What put the chill
In Chllllcothe? Why, the draft, of
course. Jimmy. . P. S. This Is some
city.' Now wasn't that just like Jim
my. Some little Joke. He-he I"
"Yes, some little Joke," said the
crowd, "you old Mr. Rip Van Noah."
Imitated Kopenick Captain.
An extraordinary Instance of Teu
tonic servility where uniforms are con
cerned has occurred at Essen. A par
ty of three armed individuals, two. in
soldiers' and one In a policeman's unl
form, made a round of nil the schools
of the town, representing themselves
to be authorized to collect the chil
dren's satchels. They paid a trifle in
each case for the leather sfraps at
tached to them, and carried away their
booty. After a few days, the whole'
affair was discovered to be a swindle.
"How it is possible that this could
have been carried on for days without
anyone having the courage to chal
lenge their authority remains one of
the mysteries of the war," says the
Rhenish Westphallan Gazette.
Flying Temperament
The most eminent of British scien
tists have devoted special study to the
psychological and physiological aspects
of flying. One authority says that
good eyesight, normal hearing, good
"muscle sense," and equilibration are
indispensable qualifications. But most
Important of all is the right tempera
ment not an easy thing for a medical
board to examine. Of the types the
Imaginative and the unimaginative
the Imaginative youth is said to make
the better pilot if he can keep hie
imagination under control.
SAVE SUGAR, MUMFORD SAYS;
Once More People Must 8hare Witts
Those Who Sit at Common
Tatle, He Says.
The lifting of ths restrictions on the?
consumption of beef does not meant
that its nse should be increased to a.
great extent or that we should return,
to our pre-war habits of meat-eating..
according to F. B. Mumford, Federal
Pood Administrator for Missouri.
As the extreme drouth In the South
west and other part of the country
endangered the meat herds, producers'
rushed lightweight beef to the market.
thus creating an unexpected surplus is.
light cuts. For this reason the Food.
Administration announced the present,
program of serving beef at only on
meal In hotels and restaurants should:
be discontinued for the present and!
that householders no longer be re
quested to limit their purchases to on
and one-half pounds of beef and bon
or one and one-quarter pounds of clear
beef weekly for each member of tit
family.
'It is highly desirable that the Amer-t
lean people consume medium andl
lighter grades of cattle, conserving that
heavier animals for our own armed!
force and those of the Allies," said Mr-
Mumford. "As all heavy beef Is for
the present needed for war export, re
tail markets are requested to handl
cattle which dress not over 475 pounds;
and public eating places and the public
in general are urged to create a de-
mand for light cuts.
Modifications Are Misinterpreted.
"It sometimes happens that the mod
ification of restrictions on the con
sumption of various foods Is Inter
preted by some persons to mean thai
conservation In this particular food m
no longer necessary. When hotels and
individuals were released recently
from the wheatless pledge they volun
tarily signed, binding themselves to do
without all wheat products until th
next harvest, many persons seemed t
believe that we could go back to unlim
ited wheat consumption and that the-
purchase of substitutes was no longer
necessary.
"When the Food Administration.
"finds conditions are such that some.
change can be made In the food regu
lations this change is made immedi
ately. It should be borne In mind.
however, that the general policy of thei
Food Administration in the conserva-t
tion of beef and wheat and the elimina
tion of waste is still encouraged as a.
measure to safeguard the future.
"Just now sugar conservation is then
most important thing. Stocks aro low
because of the destruction of sugar
ships by submarines, and it Is impera
tive that every persoa in Missouri
limit his consumption of sugar to two)
pounds a month.
"The recent sugar regulations have
caused some dissatisfaction, but the:
discontented should remember the
Food Administ ration is not to blame.
They should direct their critici.-'.m at
the German junkers and not at the
Food Administration. The shortage of
sugar is due directly to the U-boat
and the destruction of susur lands and.
refineries by the Hur.s.
Success Rests With People.
"The success of the sugar pro.;ran
rests on the honor and co-operation of
.he American people. What are taey
doing now? We hear of an unpatriotic
few going from store to store trying to
double their portion over and over.
They don't realize they are trying to
beat the game.
"The success of the wheat campaign
literally held the Allies together
through the spring and summer. It
did more than any other thing to give
them comfort and courage until the
tide turned last month. It did more
than any other performance of ours to
establish American credit until the
part our troops played In the second
Marne battle.
"Once more' we are' called on to
share with those who sit at a common
table. It Is a challenge of war condi
tions to our humanity, our chivalry and
bur worth. This time we are required
not to employ a substitute for neces
sary food, but to give up an indulgence.
"Shall we succeed? Ask yourselves.
Would we do It if It was to share with
a sick family next door Instead of
stricken neighbors across the sea?"
Out of the last harvest the American
people, by instituting wheatless days,,
saved 140,000,000 bushels of wheat to,
feed the hungry Allied nations, and
these same people are going to stay
right on the sugar job and see it
through. i
The present household sugar ration,,
with little chance of increase, is two
pounds a month in the United States,,
two pounds' in England, one and .one
half in France and one pound in Italy..
Restaurants and hotels are restrict
ed to two pounds of sugar for every 80
meals served. This Includes sugar for
kitchen as well as table use.
Sugar bowls have been banished
from American dining cars. A trav
eler is served his portion of sugar and
no more.